Monday, November 6, 2006

One Amazing Night

According to Amitabh Bachchan, every time he is summoned on stage for a performance, he still gets butterflies in his stomach. "The last time I was on stage it was for ‘Kajra re’. I still suffer from acute stage fright. I am petrified," says Bachchan.

Of course, the energy levels he exhibits on stage betray his nervousness. On being asked about his enthusiasm, he says, "If you continue wondering where my energy levels come from it may soon disappear."

However, the actor has decided to once again brave his stage fright. Especially now that he has consented to doing some moves on stage, with son Abhishek in tow.

Bachchan says, "Yes, we're planning a series of world concerts. We're looking at August -September, 2007. The shows, to be entitled One Amazing Night, will have other leading entertainers from Hindi cinema besides the two of us." The list may include names like Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, and several leading musicians.

With both the Senior and Junior Bachchan being inundated in work, obviously the two-month concert needs meticulous planning. He says, "Yes, it requires very careful planning. Although I've been on stage a number of times, this is going to be Abhishek's first world concert."

Bachchan is not new to stage fright, or stage shows. He says, "I've been doing world tours from long before they were fashionable in the mid-1970s. Jaya and I would go on stage along with (music composers) Kalyanji-Anandji. A few musicians would sing and one or artistes would say 'Namaste' on stage and go. In 1973, when we started off, I remember at Southall in London, at one of the shows, there were just four members in the audience, two of them Jaya's uncles! We've come a long way since then. Going to perform at Madison Square Garden was an unbelievable experience. It was reserved for the likes of Elvis Presley. It took us a year-and-a-half to get permission. Then we performed at Giant Stadium in New York, and Wembley Stadium… In South Africa, we filled up their main football stage. Stage shows have become a profitable business. The concerts abroad have become technically advanced. Now all the songs that artistes perform are pre-recorded. In those days, I'd perform them live.”

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